A Purpose
by Vishinia
Summary: Riley, a 16-year-old girl from London, England, drifts through life without any real purpose. She doesn't have goals in mind or any objectives, and hasn't even had her first lover yet as a result of her disease. Winding up in a hospital on one fateful day, she falls into a coma and is thrown into Drangleic, a place desperate for a hero. Can she fill the position? Will contain smut.
1. Chapter 1

Salutations! Deciding to get back into writing and I guess this is where I'm kicking off. :) I hope it isn't too awful, criticism of any kind is appreciated, but please try to be constructive about it and not leave something like "ermgherd ur story iz bad". Please enjoy!

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I was never exactly the healthiest child. I was born with a.. disease, let's say. I wasn't entirely sure what the name of it was, but it wasn't pretty. I would get severe pains in my chest area and would feel extremely dizzy, and would soon after pass out. It was on my 16th birthday I found myself in the hospital. The pain had gotten so bad it felt like someone had shot me, and my parents said that I had been screaming in agony for a good hour, and that my voice had become scratchy.

While the doctors said I would be fine, they couldn't help but notice a very.. strange marking on my finger. When they asked my guardians, they responded with "it was a birthmark,", but the doctors seemed more intrigued. It was like.. a ring of fire, thin and hollow. The doctors shrugged it off, not calling it a birthmark but a stupid tattoo some kid wanted to look cool at school or whatever.

I was never a part of the in-crowd, but I never exactly desired to be. I preferred peace and solitude, and for most things to be conducted in an orderly fashion. That isn't to say that I don't have friends, or that I don't enjoy some creativity and fun here and there, but I did that stuff less than others. While I may have had a disease, I had another sickness, known by the books as depression.

Often times, I would find myself sitting idly, dwelling on such dark thoughts that I would get a very dark look in my eyes, would sit completely still and just act as if I had turned into a statue. It was for this reason that I had wanted to become a counselor, a school counselor. I like helping people, and I had known the pain in it's most pure form. Scars on my wrist were proof of this, though I usually wore a wrapping of gauze around them. One day, while I was sitting at home watching TV on a rainy night, I had a friend of mine come to me in tears, her entire form and all her clothes were completely soaked as a result of the rain, and she jumped into me and bawled her eyes out for the longest time.

We talked for a few hours and came to see each other as siblings, joking around and such. I wasn't going to allow her to go back out into the freezing rain that night though. She made a call to her parents, telling them she was staying the night at a friends house, and all was well. After we were done talking, I had her take a shower. I took her wet clothes and had them washed, and gave her a bundle of clothes that had belonged to my mother. They were nearly the same size so that wasn't an issue, it was just the matter of getting her to put the damn things on.

A few months after that happened, my 16th birthday, I wound up in the hospital. When I came to, I learned that I had fallen unconscious in class after I began screaming and such, falling onto the floor and whapping my head off a table while people were rushing to get teachers, the nurse, counselors, anyone.. That would've explained the bandages. I felt myself shifting in and out of reality, one side of me fighting to stay with the doctors, my friends and my family, and the other beckoning a coma.

Light and dark are two sides of the same coin, one radiating happiness and joy, and the other, darkness and depression. For me, one burned brightly, and the other was snuffed out. It would've been nice to get a little rest. I laid back, shut my eyes, and waited the end. I felt the darkness wash over me, a small smile creeping on my lips, for the first time in a while, I felt.. happy.

Whether by a final spark of the light or by pure luck, I woke up. The cold breeze of wind smacked against my face, bringing a smell unlike any I've taken in. I was on my chest, now how did I get like this? Had someone moved me? I opened my eyes slowly and blinked, looking around.

I was in a cave with a bright light shimmering from the front of the cave. It was beautiful, blue, and made me curious, how did I get here? Where was I? I pushed up off the place where I had been resting, a strange structure with magnificent architecture, and began walking, taking note of what I was wearing. My clothes felt makeshift, scraps of cloth stitched together. Maybe this was some kind of mental therapy my brain was putting on me. Yeah, we'll call it that.

I went through the field with a ton of long blades of grass popping from the ground, feeling wonderful against my fingertips. It felt rough, but good nonetheless. My feet carried me through the cave, my lips forming a smile as some sort of dog ran past my feet. I wanted to touch him, but if I knew anything about wild animals, it's not to touch them, even if they seem friendly.

I walked across a wood bridge, my eyes falling upon a shimmering object on a small overhang next to the bridge. Searching around a bit, I found my way to it. Much to my disgust and surprise, it was a corpse, holding some sort of stone in his palm. I quickly snagged the stone and shoved it in one of my pockets, walking back to the bridge and making my way to the strange tree house.

I knocked on the door and waited for a few moments before walking in, looking around. A sweet aroma filled the home, and the warmth of fire touched my skin. "Ooooh.. a new visitor.." The old woman nearest to the fire spoke, each of the women turning to me. "Her skin.. look at it.. she's a hollow.." I looked at my hands, my eyes widening underneath my hood. They were a disgusting green, like.. a zombie.

"We've had many of your ilk pass through here.. there were many before you.. and will be many after." Each of the elderly ladies laughed, their laughter serving to taunt me. Was my mind trying to put me through trauma or something? This seemed.. weird. "Tell us.. can you remember your own name?"

I went through my memories, then nodded slowly. "My name.. Riley." Yes.. my name was Riley. I was a 16-year-old girl. They laughed lightly and nodded, one reaching into her jacket and retrieving a small black figurine, made of some sort of black metal. Maybe a plastic? I tapped it lightly, it was neither. It was a black wood. Whoever made this must have been some sort of artist.

"Riley.. that is a rarity.. you remember your name. That.. is a Human Effigy.. go ahead, press it against your chest.." She folded her hands over her stomach, looking into the fire. "You've come here from a far away land, have you not?" Instinctively, I nodded as I put the object against my chest. It faded into ashes, and my human figure was restored. The lady in the red garb smiled softly, looking to the housemaid, a taller lady with blonde hair. She wore a head wrapping around her hair as to keep it out of what she was doing. "This is Drangleic.. a land of mystery and adventure, of death and of disaster. To survive, to even have a chance, you must be armed."

The housemaid stepped to me and took my hand, leading me to the second floor, where several armor stands and weapon racks stood. "Take off your clothes." She ordered, opening a small chest behind the racks and stands, filled with dirty clothes. My cheeks went a very deep shade of crimson as I looked at her, taking a step away.

"I-I'm sorry? I must have heard you wrong, did you say-" The housemaid cut me off, looking at me with a glare. I had a sense she wasn't mad, nor annoyed, but wanted me to be safe.

"Yes, I told you to take off your clothes. Chop chop." She waited for a moment as I stood still, staring at her, before sighing deeply and walking over, pulling off my hood and allowing my black hair to fall out. She set it to one side as I clutched my top tightly, trying to move away. She knelt down and pulled off my brown and black wrapping around my wrists, ignoring the scars. "Are we going to have you take off the rest or am I going to have to do it for you?" My face, consumed by the blush, slowly nodded.

"F-Fine, but I d-don't want you to watch!" Her brown eyes met my green ones, and we both stood there, staring at eachother awkwardly before she nodded, stepping back downstairs.

"Tell me when you're done." She spoke in an assertive tone, and I made sure she actually went downstairs before undressing myself further. I stood there in my undergarments, a brown bra made from some cloth, holding up my comparatively small chest, a pair of black panties, and a short brown skirt made of the same cloth the bra was that wrapped around it. "Have you finished?" She asked, looking up. "Oh good, you have."

I let out a loud yelp grabbed my shirt, using it to cover my top half. I couldn't really say anything because I didn't exactly know what to say. I hadn't been in this situation before, hell, I was still a virgin! She came back up and took my shirt from me, setting it aside before closely examining my figure. After about 5 minutes, she turned around and grabbed a set of clothes. "The garb of a Wanderer. Sturdy, light, and comfortable." She must've known a lot about the armor as to say that, or have at least worn something like this.

She handed it to me, turning back around and looking through the weapons on the racks. I very hastily dressed myself, flipping up the hood. She was right, it was VERY comfortable, tough, and light. I felt like I could jump around the room in it. "Ah, here we are." Pulling two weapons from the rack, some sort of sword with a straight blade, and another with a curved one. Putting them both into two brown sheaths with no ostentation, she wrapped them around my waist and clapped her hands. "There. Now you might have a chance out there." She smiled and looked me over, nodding slowly.

"Let me give you some advice, kid. Drangleic is a cruel place. It wants nothing more to kick you down and make you feel like you're worth nothing, that you're scum o' the planet." She extended her finger and poked my shoulder twice, accentuating both words with them. "Stay. Motivated. You lose motivation, and you go hollow. Stay safe, think tactically, and don't let anyone tell you you're less than what you are."

The housemaid smiled softly and turned me around, pushing me forward. "Now get out of here, kid. Don't wanna overstay your welcome." She and I descended to the first floor and walked to the front door, behind the elderly ladies. She opened the door for me as I stepped back out into the cold, immediately wanting to go back inside. "Oh, and for future reference, that there," She said, pointing at the small mound of ashes near a gravestone. "is a bonfire. That'll be your home away from home. Light it by hovering your hand over it. It'll sting for a few seconds, but the pain will go away almost instantly."

I left the small house and approached the so-called bonfire with a sword poking from it. It was long faded, and covered in ashes. I did as she told me to, hovering my hand over it as a sharp sense of pain washed over my arm, but was then removed nearly instantly as the fire was lit. "There ya go!" She smiled. "Good luck, kid. You'll do great." With that, she closed the door and resumed her duties.

I rested at the fire for a moment before standing up and looking around. A few words were scrawled on the stone, but I didn't really care to read them, thinking it was just information on the deceased. Standing up, I stretched and pulled down my hood, heading out to make progress. The first thing that I seen was a wall of mist. I didn't know they had fog machines here. I tilted my head and walked to it, extending my hand and pushing my way through as the fog dispersed.

I began walking down the hallway, noticing a tall man in some clothes like I had worn. He looked like a zombie, like I had earlier. "Uhm, excuse me sir?" He let out a groan and began approaching me, twitching like a madman. "Sir?" I called as he swung towards me. Dodging to my left, I looked down at where he had fallen as a result of him missing. I drew the sword with the orange grip, and held it out in a way to threaten him. "I-I don't want to have to hurt you sir!" He stood and turned to me, preparing to swing again.

Before he could, I thrusted forward and planted my blade into his stomach, slicing to the right as his entrails fell to the floor, and soon afterwards, he did as well. I didn't mean to hurt him, and I stood there in a shaking mess before collapsing, my world becoming black.

When I awoke, I found myself laying on a bed, wrapped in a blanket. Was I home? Was I in the hospital? I blinked a few times and sat up, stretching the sleep away. I looked around, noticing the plain brick architecture that made up the room I was in and the wooden furniture. The room had an exit to the outside, where a gigantic pit lay in between this house and another that seemed to consist of a single room and some sort of attic or backroom, with a ladder that was used to access it.

Yep, still in this crazy place.. I sighed and stood up, falling back onto the bed as a huge surge of pain went through my veins. "I wouldn't advise moving." A soft voice spoke from the corner of the room, where it was darkest. "You took a bit of a beating a little ago, you're lucky you didn't lose your humanity." I tilted my head to the right and looked to him, my eyes trying to make out a figure. "My name is Eoric, captain of the Iron Gauntlet."

"Iron Gauntlet?" I asked, slightly confused. Is that a military name or something? He nodded in response, standing and grabbing a cup that was next to him. "What's that? And where am I?"

"The Iron Gauntlet is a mercenary corps, but currently we're searching for the Chosen Undead, the one that will link the fire and save the world from the Curse of the Undead. As for where you are, you're in a little town called Majula, an outpost for the Iron Gauntlet, and also a place where lots of our kind come because of a little maiden in a green cloak." Eoric explained, leaving the room momentarily before returning and sitting on my bed. "Drink this." He said, handing me a cup with some sort of yellow liquid inside it. "It'll make you feel better, but you'll still need to rest for a while."

I took it all down, handing him the empty cup when I finished. While he was on my bed I could see him rather well, he had short black hair, a scar over his left cheek, brown eyes, and was fairly tanned and muscular. He wore a black robe, reinforced with something that looked like a leather vest. He was barefooted, but didn't seem to mind the cold floor. "It didn't taste very good.." I complained, laying back down. He chuckled in response, setting the cup aside.

"What you just had was Estus. We aren't exactly sure what it is, but we assume it was something that came from the bonfire, perhaps fire itself, as when you rest for even a moment at one, your flask is refilled. The burning sensation is how we came to the conclusion that it was some sort of fire, but we are in a desperate time right now, and it would be a bad idea to dwell on trivial things." He patted my head and pulled up the blanket, sitting back down. "Get some rest, you're gunna need it. Training starts tomorrow."

I wasn't really that tired, but I decided to comply anyways. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by training, but I was slightly eager to find out. "Hey Eoric?" I looked over at him, having a final question before I fell back asleep.

"Hm?" He replied, looking back to me.

"This is a medieval time or something, right? How come everyone I've met here hasn't said stuff like 'thou', or 'thee'?" He answered nearly instantly, the smile on his face indicating some mild amusement.

"Some of us do, others don't. Mostly people that are of relatively high birth say that stuff." He snapped his fingers as his expression turned firm. "No more questions, sleep now." With a small nod, I closed my eyes and laid my head on the pillow, falling asleep with a bit of a struggle. One thought stuck in my head though..

 **Training?**


	2. Chapter 2

**RILEY POV**

I awoke some time in the morning to the sound of wood smacking against wood, and the sounds of fighting. I lifted myself off my bed and looked outside where, much to my surprise, nearly 10 or 15 people were training together, practicing their skills. I hadn't noticed that the pain had subsided, and when it finally dawned on me, I felt joy. On the table next to the bed there was a bit of paper that read..

" _Newcomer, today you start your training. You will, in one months time, hopefully be apart of the Iron Gauntlet Mercenary Corps. Before you are permitted to train, however, there are some things you must do._

 _Shower. In the basement of the large house, there is a post with a bucket. Undress, pour water into it, clean off._

 _Eat breakfast. See Narazim for this one, tall man like myself, but he couldn't hurt a fly. Makes pretty good oatmeal._

 _Talk to Shanalotte. She is important to us as the last, and by extension most powerful, fire keeper. She is a naturally kind soul, but quiet._

 _Get your training garbs. In the second floor of the large house lies several training garbs made from leather. Find one that is your size and come meet me._

 _-Eoric"_

I smiled slightly and filled out the first task, showering as quickly as possible because the water was rather cold and i didn't know how to heat it up. I wouldn't have showered if there wasn't a thick piece of wood that could cover the basement entrance, serving as a door. Bloody heavy, though.

I then went to find Nerazim and, with a bit of effort, eventually did in a large tent, surrounded by many others. He was tall, like Eoric said, and had a warm smile on hia face. "Now how can I help ya, misseh?" He asked, turning away from the food he was preparing

"Um.. Eoric said you could make me some breakfast?" I spoke softly, not the best at conversation. His smile became wider and he looked like he was about to die from a cuteness overload or something.

"Ah, yes I can! I'll make ya the best meal ya've ever tasted. Sit, sit!" Nerazim pulled out a chair and had me sit at it as he began preparing some food. "Tell me, how old are ya, lass?"

"I'm.. 16." I replied, a little unnerved by the question. The guy was a little too hyper for my tastes. Or energetic with the people he had to work with. "Why?"

He pulled an orange from, I shit you not, out of nowhere, and began feeling it with a knife. "16, huh?" He replied, completely dodging my question. "So then a girl like you's gotta get a lot of proteins an' nutrients!" When he finished peeling it, he pulled it in half and grabbed a cup and some sort of juice extractor, a very crude one, and began making orange juice.

When he finished, he handed the glass to me and kept working, looking at the ingredients he had. "So, what kinna food do ya want, lasseh?" I thought back to the note, about how Eoric liked his oatmeal.

"Mister Eoric said you made good oatmeal?" I asked, getting a chuckle in response.

"Yeh, his favorite meal, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, is oatmeal. Sometimes I wonder to meself if he's a vegetarian or not, never wants any meat!" He laughed heartily, starting on the oatmeal. "Yeh know, Eoric's a single man.." He said softly, looking at me. "Ya could do well with him."

"E-Excuse me?!" I asked, dumbfounded. Nerazim let out a loud laugh and nearly spilled the oatmeal. "I-I appreciate the thought but-"

"Ya shoulda seen the look on yer face!" He said between wheezes. "I'm just messin about, lass." A few moments later, he set the oatmeal in front of me and patted my head. "I'll let Shanny know yer comin'." With that, he left, Eoric coming in a little afterwards.

"He get you with that ridiculous 'Eoric needs some loving' joke?" He asked, sitting in front of me. "You know he's messing around. He says that to every female recruit that comes through." I laughed quietly and took a bite of the oatmeal. It was pretty damn good, I had to admit.

"It did get me pretty good.." I replied, taking another bite. "Hey, mind if I ask a question?" I looked at him with a mouthful of oatmeal.

"What's on your mind?"

"How are uh.. lesbians treated here?" I asked, blushing a fair bit. He seemed taken aback by the question, but answered a minute afterwards.

"As long as you can protect your comrades' lives, we don't care if you're into the opposite gender or the same gender. Why do you ask?" Eoric folded his legs and laid back, crossing his arms.

I replied instinctively with "Just curious." as a way to hide my sexual orientation. Truth be told, I did find women attractive. Older ones, not like in their 40s or 50s or anything, just a few years. I was curious to meet this Shanalotte lady. She had a pretty name, but did her looks and personality match that? I was a little intrigued by how shy she sounded, I thought shyness was cute too. Damn you teenage hormones!

Eoric chuckled lightly and looked outside, waiting for me to finish my breakfast before standing up. "When you go to see Shanalotte, head outside and to your left. The recruits are on break so they won't bother you." When I left, I followed his directions to a lady in a green cloak, standing at a fire pit and looking out to sea.

"Excuse me, are you Shanalotte?" I asked, standing next to her and folding my hands behind my back. I was unable to see her face as a result of her hood being up, but I could see some strands of brown hair falling from it. She was also very beautiful body-wise, slim and slender, but a bit taller than I was. I wonder how old she was.

When she spoke, she didn't turn to me, continuing to gaze out. I wonder what she was looking at? "I am. I am here to serve any who may attempt to shatter the shackles of fate, and bring an end to the Curse." She turned her head to me and looked down at me, her expression plain, but I could sense a feeling of desperation for someone to 'shatter the shackles of fate', as she said.

Shanalotte's beauty did indeed match my expectations, I think she was one of the prettiest girls I've ever met. I was kind of tempted to just reach out, wrap my arms and kiss her, but only through some sort of self control was I able to keep my feet planted in the ground. "I.. see. Well, my name is Riley. I guess I'm going to be apart of the Iron Gauntlet in one month or something."

She seemed a tad surprised that someone my age would be joining, looking me over. My slim body was one thing that stood out, and, like the girl back in the tree house place, my chest was smaller. Was kinda starting to think that I had the smallest breasts on the face of the planet! I had pale skin and weighed just over 90 pounds, and the running gag between my friends and I was that they would carry me to places. I really don't know.

My hair was a deep shade of black and was longer than most girls I knew, going half way down my back. It was annoying to try and keep straight but when it was straight, it looked pretty. I was kind of short, only 5'4. Short in comparison to all of my friends, but that was part of why I weighed as little as I did. I didn't really ever wear makeup as I firmly believe that natural looks are better than artificial ones, but more power to ya if you chose to wear any.

She didn't say much else after I explained my situation, only nodding her head and turning back to the sea. "So.. what are you doing?" I asked, not getting a response from her. I guess she wasn't much of a talker. I sat next to her and laid on my back, looking up at the sky.

"Are you not supposed to be training?" She asked soon afterwards, looking down at me. My eyes widened and I jumped up, rushing to the large house. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a tenth of a smile form on her lips. When I finished dressing, I went down to meet Eoric, panting heavily when I got to him.

"S-Sorry.. I.. forgot.." I explained, leaning over and trying to catch my breath. He looked down at me and chuckled softly, nodding in understanding.

"Try not to make yourself tired just yet, you still have to train with the other recruits. A tired soldier is a dead one." When he finished talking, he led me to a weapon rack where several wooden weapons sat. There was a rapier, a battle axe, a spear, and a sword paired with a shield. "Take your pick, what do you think you'll perform most efficiently with?"

When I was back in the real world, I did do fencing for a while. I had gotten quite good at anticipating my foe's attacks and parrying them. "I'll take the rapier." I said, retrieving the weapon from the rack. Eoric nodded and took the sword and shield. "What are you doing?" I asked him, looking at him in his custom training armor. His right arm was more armored than his left one, which was a little odd considering knights usually kept their shield arm more defended. Thanks, History class, you actually helped me.

"Every Iron Gauntlet goes through a training match with their captain. In this instance, it's me versus you." He readied his weapons and took a stance as several other recruits gathered around. I thought for a moment before readying myself. "Are you ready?" Eoric asked, myself nodding and taking a glance at everyone that was crowded around. "

Three." He began counting down as a sense of dread washed over me, I was a little scared. "Two." Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck! I could feel my hands starting to shake, I was more than just a little now. "One." He took note of my current state and when he reached one, he began circling around.

 **EORIC POV**

Whether by pity or cowardice, I didn't charge in and slam her with my shield like my original plan was. I needed to make her feel comfortable with me, and by extension her other partners. I needed to make her know that while I may hurt her, I'll never kill her. I held up my shield and waited for her to attack. When she did, she attacked fairly quickly, quicker than most recruits. Upon her third attack, I pushed her weapon out of the way, sidestepped behind her and smacked her across the back. "You need to be less predictable." I said, taking a step back. She got up and appeared to be in a fair amount of pain, slumping a bit.

I started to take the offensive stance, charging forward and bringing my sword down over her. Much to my surprise, my attack was parried rather effortlessly, but a good warrior always has a backup plan. I bashed her with my shield and actually lifted her off the floor, sending her back into the wall of my home. With that, she seemed a bit drained, but stood and did a final push, starting to attack repeatedly, using slashes and stabs together. I think an Estoc would work very well with her.

I put my sword behind her legs and simultaneously pulled with my sword and pushed with my shield, putting her onto the floor. When the fight ended, the recruits dispersed, starting to train again. I put my weapons back on the rack and held out a hand to her. I got a little worried when she didn't take it, lying on the floor with her eyes closed. "Hey kid?" I called, kneeling next to her. "You okay?" When she didn't respond, I picked her up and rushed her to Shanalotte. "Shanalotte, do me a favor." I laid her on the grass gently and looked at the firekeeper. "Look after her for a minute, I'm going to change out of my training clothes. I know you're particularly adept at it, figure out how her vitality is, and if she's okay." Shanalotte seemed a small bit worried and, for the first time I could recall, she jumped right into action, kneeling next to the smaller girl and holding her hand.

I rushed to the mansion and changed as quickly as I could, coming back to the two girls as soon as I could. "Her vitality.. it's low.. it's lower than the others." She explained, looking up at me with a hint of worry on her face. "You nearly killed her." I was INCREDIBLY surprised with that news, had I been too rough with her? I was far rougher with the other recruits. I was considering expelling her from training for her own good, it's way too easy to hollow in Drangleic, and it becomes so much easier when you're less durable than wet paper.

"I nearly killed her.." I felt guilty. I nodded and picked her up gently, nodding in thanks to Shanalotte before taking her back to my home and laying her on the bed where she had slept before. I poured a bit of Estus down her throat as a way to help her recover, but I was hesitant to even let her leave the house. I stroked her head gently before heading back out, waving off the recruits. They all slept in tents on the path to the Shaded Woods, having cleared the area of trees and boulders before they set up.

I was probably going to have her set on a safer career, maybe cooking with Nerazim or providing entertainment for the other recruits or something. She wasn't fit to be a warrior, and it was my mistake for putting her on that path, even if it was for a short while. I had suspected she made a good impression on Shanalotte, as she had a small look of worry on her face when I brought her, something I haven't seen before.

We had to work on her vitality, and make her more durable in the long run. I sat in the corner of the room and opened a book, starting to read and silently watch over her. When the sun fell, it became a bit cold and I could hear her shivering. I opened a small cabinet and pulled a thick woolen blanket from it, laying it over her and fixing her pillow. I took an unlit torch from the crate next to the bed and, with a final glance at her, set off into the night. I was on fire-watch tonight, my primary concern lying on hollows coming from the Forest of Fallen Giants.

We had a few cases where long hollowed soldiers came from there. It was beyond me how they managed to get the thick iron door open, but they did, and when they came through they caused an uproar. Fortunately, we had no casualties, and one of our soldiers was actually pushed from training and put in the vanguard, a group of individuals that were spread thin, but still managed to make lots of progress towards linking the fire. I, myself, had actually been apart of the vanguard, before High Lord Tyrian Maxford pulled me from the front lines and put me on training duty.

I gladly accepted the order, but when I look back at it, I was better suited to being a mindless killing machine like the mad beast of the battlefield, Vengarl of Forossa. I had to worry about my life, and the lives of my comrades, yes, but it was still a better job than this was. Regardless, I had to train new troops for the Iron Gauntlet, and I didn't have a say in it. I wondered what had become of my former battlefield compatriots, of Lorian the Spearman, Orian the Sage and Queslie the Hexer. While Hexes were looked down upon and even illegal in some places, like sexual interests, we didn't give a damn as long as you protected your comrades.

I planted myself on a small rock and waited, neglecting my duties for that night. I wasn't fit for firewatch, but I didn't mind. The knights of Heide normally stayed put and I was right next to where the hollows came from, so I wasn't in much of a worry. I watched as the sun rose and pushed warmth over Majula, a sensation that was welcome. I closed my eyes, set my unlit torch at my side and laid back, folding my hands over my chest.

A half an hour after starting to rest, a small weight was placed on my legs, and when I opened my eyes to look, the girl was on my lap with the blanket wrapped around her, laying her head against my chest and falling back asleep. She had an expression of pain painted on it but didn't seem bothered by it, trying to calm me. She really was the cutest thing, the most selfless person.. I smiled widely and wrapped an arm around her, holding her tightly in a defensive manner. I felt like a father.

A father.

Was I ever fit to be one?


End file.
